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First Lady braces up to fight against child abuse

First Lady Fatima Bio addressing the media at Africel headquarters in Freetown

At the pre-launch of her ‘Hands Off Our Girls’ 2019-2022 strategic plan, the First Lady of Sierra Leone Monday expressed determination to end all forms of violence against children across the country.

“We have to give absolute stop to child abuse in Sierra Leone. We would work with the Judiciary, Parliament and Paramount Chiefs to achieve this goal. With humility, we would engage all Paramount Chiefs in their respective chiefdoms on the need to support the fight against girl child exploitation,” expressed First Lady Fatima Bio.

The First Lady was addressing the media at the Africell headquarters, Wilberforce village in Freetown, where she expressed that, “You don’t have to protect rapists!”

She called on parents to provide the required direction for their children and protect them against exploitation.

“Don’t ship-off your children because you are tired of feeding them. Empowering them through education would earn you more income in the future. Parents need to protect their children,” she urged.

She emphasised the need to provide sex education for girls in schools so that they would be positioned to make better choices in society.

The First Lady noted that the fight against child exploitation was not about politics, but in the interest of the country, adding that everybody should come join the fight.

Meanwhile, Fatima Bio in collaboration with her colleague First Ladies across Africa would formally launch the campaign in Freetown mid-December.